On October 9th, the House Appropriations Committee Democrats issued
A Report on Consequences of Sequestration.
OMB estimates that sequestration would require:
A reduction of 9.4% in 2013 for discretionary defense
A reduction of 8.2% in 2013 on discretionary non-defense
The Committee for Education Funding (CEF) provided the following overview of the education sections of the House report:
- Approximately100,000 fewer children nationwide would be enrolled in Head Start. As a result, more than 20,000 Head Start employees could lose their jobs.
- Title I Grants to school districts would be cut by more than $1 billion, denying funding to over 4,000 schools serving nearly 2 million disadvantaged students. These funds support teachers, tutors, and after school programs. Sequestration would mean job losses for more than 16,000 teachers and aides.
- The Department of Labor Job Corps would need to reduce the number of at-risk youth served by approximately 4,300. Job Corps provides housing at 124 centers nationwide for at-risk youth to gain the education and skills they need to find and keep jobs, serve in the military, or enroll in post-secondary education. Every dollar that a Job Corps center spends in its local area results in $1.91 in economic activity.
- Districts receiving Impact Aid would be reduced to about 1,200. This would lead to additional teacher layoffs and other reductions in services. All but one federal K-12 education funding program will be cut in July, not January; the one program facing mid-year cuts is Impact Aid. For more on sequestration's effect on Impact Aid, check out NPR's coverage.
- Special education grants to states/IDEA would also face significant reductions. States and school districts could be forced to lay off approximately 12,000 special education teachers and aides, as well as other staff serving students with disabilities. More than 500,000 students with special needs stand to be impacted by this reduction in services.